Families sat together on blankets and looked to the sky to enjoy explosions of color, while those living close enough to Rice Field to see the action did not bother to get any closer, setting up chairs on their lawns rather than fussing with the masses.

There are more opportunities to catch Independence Day pyrotechnics around Elkhart County. Other upcoming local displays are at dusk Thursday at Stauffer Park in Nappanee, Beutter Park in Mishawaka and Lakeside Park in Syracuse; 10 p.m. Friday at Century Center Island, South Bend, and 7 p.m. Sunday at Black Squirrel Golf Course, Goshen.